The heat wave continued to sweep the plains of north India on Tuesday with maximum temperatures hovering around 40�Celsius.

Hisar at 42.6�C was the hottest in the region.

Ambala in Haryana also had a hot day, recording a high of 41�C, while the temperature at Karnal touched 39.6�C, according to the Meteorological Department in Chandigarh.

At Patiala, the maximum settled at 41�C.

Ludhiana and Amritsar [Images] also registered hot days recording near similar highs at 40.6�C and 40.4� C, respectively.

Shimla had a pleasant day at 26.8�C, which was still three degrees above the normal range.

Bhuntar and Sundernagar recorded maximum temperatures of 33.2�C and 33.6�C, respectively.

Srinagar [Images], however, had a cold day as the mercury there plummeted by five degrees below normal to record 21.2�C, the Meteorological Department said.